There are many devices that need to be leveled or otherwise oriented when in use, or prior to being used. For example, surfaces such as tabletops and pool table tops typically need to be substantially parallel to the ground onto which they are located. Also, many appliances such as clothes washers and dryers, stoves and refrigerators, among others, also need to be leveled prior to being used.
Currently existing systems for adjusting the attitude of an object generally fall into two categories. In the first category, such a system is mechanical and includes, for example, a plurality of legs that are selectively screwed into or out from the object so as to adjust the attitude of the object. Many other mechanical variants exist into which one or more legs that support an object are adjusted in length to vary the attitude of the object. There also exist mechanical systems that interconnect two such legs so that the object is self-levelling.
In most currently existing levelling systems, the adjustment of the attitude of the object is relatively hard to perform. Typically, there is a need to proceed through trial and error to find the position of the legs that provide a substantially level surface. Also, the legs are typically located under the object and are therefore relatively hard to access and may also be relatively hard to operate if the object is heavy.
In a second category, a levelling system includes a hydraulic subsystem wherein a pump pumps a liquid between pistons located within the legs of the object. These systems typically include pistons mounted into respective sleeves for reciprocating movement relatively thereto. Each piston and its respective sleeve together define two chambers, each located adjacent opposed ends of the piston. Forcing a fluid into one of the chambers pushes the piston towards the other chamber, which in turn forces the fluid out from this other chamber. There is therefore a need to have a source of positive pressure in such systems, which is typically the above-mentioned pump. While such systems are more convenient to operate than most mechanical systems, they are also relatively complex, relatively expensive and relatively prone to failure.
Against this background, there exists a need in the industry to provide an improved device for adjusting the attitude of an object.
An object of the present invention is therefore to provide an improved device for adjusting the attitude of an object.